For many comic book fans out there, the quintessential media interpretation of Marvel’s X-Men started with the 1992 X-Men: The Animated Series. While the comic books had been around since 1963, fans could only imagine what Marvel’s Merry Mutants sounded like and how they acted. And in the case of legendary team member, Rogue, it wasn’t until Canadian actress Lenore Zann stepped up to the mic for that beloved series that the popular character found her voice.
However, for any actor, giving a role a voice is only half of a performance. What matters just as much as giving the character a true soul. And that’s what Zann has proven in over 30 years of portraying the popular character. Upon receiving the role of Rogue in 1992, Zann was 33, and had already accomplished so much as an actress since 1980. She had seen the world, traveled so much, and lived an epic life both in Canada and in Hollywood. Coming back to the role of Rogue in 2024, with the revival, X-Men ’97, Zann found even more life experience serving time in politics as a member of Parliament for the House of Commons of Canada.
And from all of this, Zann was able to infuse so much of herself into Rogue, from her strength, her pain, her triumphs, and more, as she shares everything in her new book: Lenore Zann – A Rogue’s Tale. And we were given the wonderful opportunity to speak with Zann about the new memoir, which chronicles so much of her journey, from addiction, to romance and dating, and finally, becoming a superhero both in government and in Hollywood. Take a look at our conversation with Zann right here:
THAT’S IT LA: Lenore, it’s wonderful to see you! We’re so proud of you! This is so well done. It’s hard to believe you’re a first time author, because it’s so well done, and I took so much from this, and from your journey. The hardships that you’ve seen, but also the triumphs! I love X-Men so much, but there’s so much more that the world needs to know about you!
Zann: Aww thank you! Does it help you have another handle on Rogue? Thinking about the fact that I’ve gone through all of that, and playing her so it’s like, a “she’s experienced a lot of trauma, but so have I,” kind of thing?
It does! And it makes the role seem a lot more personal I think. Because Rogue is one of those characters who, despite all the hardships she’s gone through, she always comes out on top and comes out swinging.
Zann: Exactly!
Thank you for sharing all of this with us.
Zann: You’re welcome! I felt it was time. Time to “release the dragon!”
If I can ask, why was this the time to share your story?
Zann: Well for one thing, this was the first time really in my life that I had the time to sit down and write. Because until I started writing it 2 years ago, I was too busy living. I was too busy living the story. And I’ve always loved adventure. And as a kid I loved adventure stories. And so my travels, as I talk about in the book, have taken me all around the world a number of times, and to many different countries and across North America, both working and travelling as a tourist. And then going into politics for 12 years, which four terms in politics is really heavy lifting. You really have to work hard and I worked around the clock. Probably about 17 hours a day, then got a little bit of sleep, then got up and did it all again. For 12 years. Once the political career stopped, in, I think, August of 2021…I went through a depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, from death threats, and things like that towards the end of my run as a female politician. But then X-Men came calling. Disney came calling. Disney and Marvel came out of the blue to pluck me out and find me in Nova Scotia, and say “hey would you suit up, and show up, to be a superhero again for a whole new generation of kids and the parents of the kids who enjoyed our show back in the 90s.” And I said “You have me!” That’s what inspired me then to write the book, because I thought, “now I have an ending.” While there will be more life and more adventures lived, this is a perfect ending to that first big huge passage of my life! And so when I started travelling to comic cons and conventions, I was in the zone because there were no distractions for me to write on planes and come out with the book.
It really is a good way to end the book, because it becomes a story of triumph. And by the way four terms in the political world? That’s nothing to sneeze at. And frankly the type of leader that you were and that we’ve seen you to be, it’s the type of leader we need right now. I’m in LA right now, and we’re seeing the consequences of what happens when a “leader” puts himself and his ego above the needs of his people. But you weren’t that kind of leader. Can you talk about the change of pace between becoming an actor and then switching over to the political climate?
Zann: Thank you for that question. When I entered politics, part of the reason I ran the first time was that, at the time, I saw in the newspapers that the leaders of the G20 were all gathering in Europe to have a big meeting about what to do about the world financial crisis. This was in about 2008. All leaders except for one: Angela Merkle, who was the Chancellor of Germany. But the rest of them were all men. And I thought to myself, “what’s wrong with this picture?” That in 2008, there were no women world leaders. We needed to get more women involved in politics. So in Canada, I said, “yes, what have I got to lose?” And once I won, my motto was taken was taken from a politician from many years ago from Nova Scotia. His name was Joseph Howe. He was a newspaper owner, editor, and writer, who got in trouble at the time for talking about the politicians who were in charge of Nova Scotia, who were all from England, and weren’t ordinary citizens. He said, why do we have these people running the show? We should have regular ordinary people in government.” And he spoke for 11 hours for his own defense, and came away with people deciding they wanted to have a responsible government: government of the people, for the people, by the people. Joseph even became premier in Nova Scotia. And his motto was, “when I sit at my desk in my office, and ponder, I think what is right, what is just, and what is for the public good.” And I had that printed on my cards when I was first elected. What is right, what is just, what is for the public good. And that was my motto all throughout my years in the government, winning 4 terms, and eventually going federal as a member of Parliament along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was the head of our party at the time. And my bill about environmental justice and environmental racism took me 10 years, and switching parties, and going from state government and federal government just to get it passed. And it passed, and now it’s law in Canada!
See this is why superheroes make the best politicians. Because they know and fight for what’s right for the community. And it’s sad that so many others these days don’t necessarily share that mentality. Having said that, I’ll lighten the mood a little bit. There’s a lot in this book that made me smile. One thing was that you had a moment in time with Mr. John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves! You have a chapter that documents that story, and it sounded very romantic. What’s that like, with movies like Ballerina hitting theaters, thinking about it. Do you ever look back at those times and think, “wow, I can’t believe me and John Wick had a shared moment?”
Zann (laughing): Well it was a very short moment. I like to call it “the wild weekend in Toronto.” I had to be back in Toronto right now to do this interview. He was such a sweet, sweet man. We hit it off really well. I talk about it in the book, how we met at an audition that we were both being considered for leading roles to play opposite each other. In the end, neither one of us got the part, sadly. But we met there, went out for a drink afterwards, and we went back to this apartment I was renting. And we ended up going out, having Mexican food, and drinks. And now when I look back at it, and also when I saw how well he was doing, I am just happy for him. I’m so pleased for him. I have so many interesting actor encounters. Keanu is one of them. The other one is Sam Rockwell. The fact that I played opposite Sam in New York, Off-Broadway, in the play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, we had a love scene every single life, where we were both naked as jay birds on stage and matinees (8 shows a week). And to see him doing so well, I’m thrilled. And there was also Giancarlo Esposito. He was also in that circle at that time doing theater in New York while we were doing theater. Us going to see his show, him coming to see my show. And to see him doing so well. I’m thrilled for all of them. And it’s just interesting when they say six-degrees of separation, sometimes it’s one or two degrees of separation. But we’re all connected.
All of you have seen great success. It doesn’t even matter that you and Keanu didn’t get those initial roles, because it paved the way for success for both of you! One of the things I also loved in the book, you took us through your adventures through Europe. Do you miss the travel bug? Going back to those countries now that you’re older and wiser?
Zann: Let’s put it this way. When my father died, about a year and a half ago, after a beautiful long life, that’s when I decided to go back to Australia and see my family there. Because I hadn’t gone back for a number of years. And they all loved [him]…Two of his brothers are still alive. His two sisters are gone. So I wanted to go and celebrate him and the family and reconnect with my larger extended Australian Zann-clan. And it was wonderful. We had so much fun…Then I was invited to go to New Zealand for a comic con. So I went over to New Zealand…met some family members there I never met before. Then I was asked to come back to Australia to do two comic cons there. One in Brisbane and one in Adelaide. And I hadn’t been to either of those cities because I’m from Sydney. So I got to see Brisbane and Adelaide, meet all my Aussie fans, and do a comic book signing…So I am doing some travelling and travelling a lot through North America right now. And to be honest I’ve always been fascinated with American history. So I love going to different cities whenever I’m invited to other comic cons. And I like to take an extra day to check out the sights, learn about the history of the place, so I can see it for myself rather than just read it in the history books…so it’s been really great getting down and getting out and about in North America as well!
I love that. You’re someone who is an example to follow. Because I’ve had friends who have also dealt with substance abuse and depression. And at times it’s hard to find the strength to carry on. And you’ve managed to fight through a lot of darkness to achieve so much success for yourself. For those people who are struggling, who do read this, what is the biggest takeaway you want for them to get from your story and your example?
Zann: Well I believe there are a lot of people out there right now who are suffering, who are grieving, who are anxious, who are afraid; there’s a lot of anger out there, and a lot of people who are quick to anger, attacking each other online…But I think underneath that anger, if they look at themselves, there’s probably a lot of fear and sadness. And I think it’s good for us to really get in touch with our emotions. To be empathetic, is not a weakness. It’s a strength. And to understand it’s ok to be different, whatever that is. And it’s ok to be who you are, as you are, and that we need to accept ourselves; who we are, as we are…no matter who is criticizing us, putting us down, or making us feel less than. We need to find that strength within ourselves to go I am worthy, I am enough just as I am. And so are other people. So we need to be able to accept others no matter what their differences are. We need to remember that everybody, everywhere all around the world, want one thing: to be happy, peaceful, and safe, and have our children be happy, peaceful, and safe. So we need to be able to offer that to others, and offer that to ourselves. As Rogue says in the episode, “The Cure” where she goes to Muir Island…she suddenly realizes, “I reckon I am my powers, and the good they can do. And I reckon I can live with that. There ain’t no cure for who you are.” So I’m hoping that’s what people takeaway from this. And to never give up on their dreams…The pendulum continues to swing. Even though things seem dire right now and you just want to give up, don’t give up, because we need you! We need all of you. And we need this so we can create a better, more prosperous world.
Spoken like a true X-Man. My last question for you is this. You’ve led one hell of a life, but this is only a portion of it. So when do you think you’ll be able to write the next portion of it?
Zann: Well let’s put it this way, towards the end of the book, I dove into the politics, but not that much. I didn’t do a deep dive about what the 12 years was like. And there’s a lot of stories there. But I wasn’t going to write a 400-page book. So I think I need to write a second book called Rogue Goes to Parliament, or something like that. And also just this week, here in Toronto, the reason I’m here, is because I got the greenlight to do the audio book version of A Rogue’s Tale. So I’m going to be coming back to Toronto with a lovely director, Marcia Johnson – a Black, incredible playwright. So I’m coming back first week of July to do the audio book. But I also have a book signing in Toronto the end of that week…then the 6th, in Vancouver. Then the 29th of July, one in Miami in Carl Gables. And there’s also a new live-action TV series that I have a recurring role for. It debuts on Syfy and Peacock called Revival! They had a private premiere screening for the cast and crew, so I flew into Toronto for that. It stars Melanie Scrofano. And I have a small but recurring role as the police dispatcher of a tiny town in Wisconsin. We’ve shot 10 episodes, but if it does well, we’ll do another season.
I know I’ll be tuning in! And how about X-Men ’97 Season 2?
Zann: Oh! I’ve finished Season 2. I might have a number of pick ups to do. But I’ve finished recording Season 2, and I’ve started Season 3! You’re going to love it!
You are so busy!
Zann: It’s great. If I can be a symbol for folks to just hang in there, and things will get better…Use the skills that you’ve got to try and keep people on the right side of history and encouraging people to do the right thing, and not bow to fascism! Take part!
Thank you for that! And thank you so much for this interview and this memoir! And congratulations on everything!
You can pick up a copy of Lenore’s book right here:
You can also catch the latest season of X-Men ’97 and the original X-Men: The Animated Series on Disney+, and the debut episodes of Revival only on Syfy and Peacock now!
